The Pentagon is in “total chaos” and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is unlikely to remain in his role, according to its former top spokesperson, who painted a scene of dysfunction, backstabbing and continuous missteps at the highest levels of the department.
“The building is in disarray under Hegseth’s leadership,” John Ullyot wrote Sunday in a POLITICO Magazine opinion piece. “The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership.”
Accusations of Dysfunction
Ullyot, who resigned from the Pentagon last week, described a department in collapse. He accused Hegseth’s team of “falsehoods” about why three top officials were fired last week, saying they hadn’t leaked sensitive information to the media. He chastised Pentagon officials for how they handled revelations that Hegseth shared sensitive military information in a Signal chat, and he pointed to other leaks that caused embarrassment to the administration.
The remarkable accusations by a former official — who left only two days ago and insists he still supports the Trump administration’s national security policies — underscores the infighting and upheaval that has turned increasingly public in recent weeks.
Controversies and Purges
Ullyot was sidelined after he defended the removal in March of a story discussing the service of baseball legend Jackie Robinson, part of a larger purge of diversity-related military webpages.
“The last month has been a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon — and it’s becoming a real problem for the administration,” he wrote.
Staff Firings and Backlash
The Pentagon on Friday fired top staffers — senior adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, chief of staff to the deputy Defense secretary. Joe Kasper, Hegseth’s chief of staff will also leave his role in the coming days for a new position at the agency, according to a senior administration official.
POLITICO was the first to report the firings and Kasper’s move, which one defense official ascribed to personality clashes between the chief of staff and the other men.
“Hegseth is now presiding over a strange and baffling purge” that has left him without senior advisers, Ullyot wrote. “More firings may be coming, according to rumors in the building.”
Terminations and Investigations
The three fired staff backed up some of Ullyot’s claims in a Saturday post on X, saying they didn’t know why they were terminated. The trio wrote that they “have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with.”
His comments will likely make more trouble for Hegseth, who remains under investigation by the Pentagon’s inspector general for his use of Signal to disclose sensitive information about airstrikes in Yemen.
Future Uncertainty
“It’s hard to see Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth remaining in his position for much longer,” he wrote.
